NEW YORK (Sputnik) — In recent months, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has been at the center of controversy after he proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States, and also proposed establishing an Islamic registry as well as tighter surveillance of certain mosques.
"American voters opposed 51 – 43 percent accepting Syrian refugees into the country, but they also oppose 66 – 27 percent banning people who are Muslim from entering the US," the Quinnipiac University poll stated.
Voters were split by political party preferences, as 74 percent of Democrat voters said they would accept Syrian refugees while 82 percent of Republican voters said they would not.
Meanwhile, the opposition to a ban on all Muslims was more unified between the two parties, with 79 percent of Democrats opposing the ban compared to 51 percent of Republicans.
"American voters are making a distinction between Syrian refugees and Muslims in general," Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director Tim Malloy said. "A bare majority says keep the Syrians out, but an overwhelming majority rejects proposals to ban all Muslims from our shores."
Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,140 registered voters nationwide on December 16-20.
